Wealth AND Happiness in 2007, Part 2
- WEALTHY: Good times are on the way (Charles Delvalle)
- HEALTHY: An overlooked anti-aging supplement (Jon Herring)
- WISE: Sid Caesar on enjoying life
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- 5 "happy" habits (Michael Masterson)
- Bob Parsons’ 16 rules to live by
- Add "tintinnabulation" to your vocabulary
He’d Have Called Them Crazy - Or Worse!
With the Internet, it’s now possible to spend no more than a few dollars, write a couple of very basic ads, and have instant access to millions of potential customers all in a matter of minutes.
If anyone had told Jim Sheridan he could bank thousands in just 24 hours. . . without any product of his own. . . without spending a penny on getting it or promoting it, he’d have justifiably said they were nuts.
But Jim made a decision that he would overcome his skeptical nature and give it a go. Boy, is he glad he did! That one deal alone banked him $187,296 in one day.
The great news is - you can copy Jim’s plan exactly. The program is called Instant Internet Income and I guarantee it does exactly what it says it does.
Take a look at how Jim brought in over $175,000 in a single day!
- Patrick Coffey
Recession? I Don’t Think So
By Charles Delvalle
While some investors are sweating a potential U.S. recession this year, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia isn’t worried one bit - and you shouldn’t be either.
According to the Philly Fed, the economy will likely pick up in 2007 after the Gross Domestic Product (the value of all goods and services produced in the U.S.) slows (as expected) over the next few weeks.
The truth is, outside of the housing market and auto manufacturing, the economy is doing well. Wages are up, more people have jobs, the service sector is expanding, and business spending remains strong. Even inflation isn’t as much of a threat as it was just a few months ago. (If it were a big concern, policymakers would be hiking interest rates.)
[Ed. Note: Charles Delvalle is a contributing editor to the Investor’s Daily Edge newsletter, and a regular contributor to INCOME, ETR’s new investment service. INCOME provides a slew of high-dividend-paying companies, with the goal of providing you with a total return (dividends plus capital gains) of at least 14 percent per year.]
"In between goals is a thing called life that has to be lived and enjoyed."
Sid Caesar
Kicking Off the New Year With ETR: Achieving Wealth AND Happiness in 2007, Part 2
By Michael Masterson
On Friday, I told you that it’s possible to be both wealthy AND happy. And I outlined seven steps you can take this year to increase your wealth. Today, I’d like to give you a quick plan for being happier in 2007 than you were last year … and happier next year than you will be this year.
At one time, it was thought that our moods were dictated by the "humors" in our bloodstream, and that the cure for sadness could be had by letting bile out of the body or bringing some other substance in. In modern times, this physiological explanation was replaced with psychology. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the dominant Western view was that our feelings were caused by emotionally charged experiences, and that the cure for sadness could be had through introspection and/or therapy.
Most recently, studies have shown that our moods are both physiological and psychological. Sadness and happiness have electro-chemical correspondences in the brain, and yet they can be controlled and even altered by other chemicals or - in a more natural way - by food, exercise, or even thought.
I’ve written about these subjects in the past, so I won’t go into much detail here. But these are the basics for defeating sadness:
1. Recognize that you can’t control everything that happens to you, but you can control how you react to external events.
A small example: Somebody bumps into you on the street and you sprain your ankle. You have a choice. You can be angry at that person and upset with your fate because you will be limping around for a few weeks and won’t be able to do your regular workout routine. Or you can forgive the person, feel good about doing it, and see the recuperation period as a gift - the chance to do some new form of exercise or start a new project. Having a good attitude about your injury will also make it easier for you to give the sprain the time it needs to heal and, therefore, you will heal more quickly.
So, one way to be happier this year, is to resolve that you will consciously recognize your response to unfortunate situations and control the way you think about them.
2. Much of the sadness we experience in life comes from having unrealistic expectations of ourselves and others.
Instead of being upset in 2007 by your spouse’s habit of (fill in the blank), resolve to accept the fact that they won’t be changing and find a way to forgive them and even love them for their frailty.
3. Eat healthy.
Eating too many carbohydrates will make you crazy, cranky, and tired. To have more consistent energy all day, use food like fuel. Eat six smallish meals a day, avoiding junk food, favoring organics, etc.
For specific advice on how to create a healthful diet all year, keep reading articles by Dr. Al Sears, Jon Herring, and other health experts in ETR.
4. Sleep and rest adequately.
For me, adequate sleep is the number one contributor to feeling good. Studies show that people who get seven good hours of sleep a day live longer, suffer from fewer illnesses, and achieve more in every sphere of life because they have more energy. For tips on sleeping well, see ETR #1667. If you get tired during the day, take a short nap.
5. Exercise hard and soft.
There are two kinds of exercises that invigorate me: longish, meditative walks and challenging, 30-minute exercises followed by a 10-minute stretch. I’ve detailed my personal exercise routines in ETR #1735 and #1739. Other recommendations are Dr. Sears’ PACE program, Matt Furey’s Combat Conditioning, and Doc Darville’s 60 Going on 20 program.
If you practice the above five habits this year, I’m sure you will be a happier person by January 2008.
How much happier? Use this simple method to find out:
- On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being "suicidal" and 10 being "euphoric," give yourself an overall happiness score. (I gave myself a 7.)
- Now ask three people who know you well to rate you. (I asked K, Number Two Son, and V, my sister-in-law, to rate me. K gave me a 6. NTS gave me a 5. And V gave me a 6.)
- Add all four scores and divide by 4. (In my case, the sum was 24 and the quotient was 6.)
That’s your happiness score for 2006. Make a note on your calendar to rate your happiness again next January. Your goal is to increase your happiness score by at least one digit.
Note to skeptics: Attempting to quantify happiness may seem ridiculous because of the subjectivity involved. But for our purposes - measuring the happiness we feel now versus the happiness we will feel at the end of the year - it can (and should) be done. (Please don’t write to tell me that my method for doing this is simplistic and that the human emotional system is complex. I know that.)
[Ed. Note: You can get wealthier this year. You can become happier, too. Read Friday’s ETR to find out how to take the next step and make both of these goals more meaningful.]
3 Dividend-Paying Stocks You Should Buy in the Next 5 Days!
I’m urging everyone I know to buy three stocks in particular—three income-generators that offer you steady sources of income that could begin in the next 90 days.
DMAE - to Sharpen Your Mind and Lengthen Your Life
By Jon Herring
In ETR #1911, I told you about my 86-year-old neighbor Tom. He’s living proof that exercise keeps your mind sharp - even into old age. But there’s a brain-boosting supplement that does even more than that. It could also increase your lifespan.
I’m talking about DMAE, a compound found in sardines and anchovies (which may explain why fish is known as "brain food"). Your brain makes this compound in small amounts - and doctors are using it successfully in supplement form to improve memory, boost cognitive function … even fight Alzheimer’s.
DMAE works by speeding the production of acetylcholine, a crucial neurotransmitter responsible for carrying messages between brain cells. The result is better recall and memory, sharper focus, and a longer attention span.
One study showed that DMAE stabilizes cell membranes, naturally inhibiting the changes that cause aging. And in a study with mice, scientists found DMAE actually increased their lifespans by 36 percent.
You can easily find this supplement online or at your local health food store. The typical recommended dose is 100 mg to 150 mg (taken with food to improve absorption), although you can safely go up to 300 mg if you need it. Start with a smaller dose to see how it affects you.
Spotted on the Net: "If it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you."
If you haven’t already seen the following (which has been making the rounds on the Internet), enjoy this article from Bob Parsons, the founder of Go Daddy Web hosting and a bunch of other businesses …
Here are the 16 rules I try to live by:
- Get and stay out of your comfort zone. I believe that not much happens of any significance when we’re in our comfort zone. I hear people say, "But I’m concerned about security." My response to that is simple: "Security is for cadavers."
- Never give up. Almost nothing works the first time it’s attempted. Just because what you’re doing does not seem to be working, doesn’t mean it won’t work. It just means that it might not work the way you’re doing it. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it, and you wouldn’t have an opportunity.
- When you’re ready to quit, you’re closer than you think. There’s an old Chinese saying that I just love, and I believe it is so true. It goes like this: "The temptation to quit will be greatest just before you are about to succeed."
- With regard to whatever worries you, not only accept the worst thing that could happen, but make it a point to quantify what the worst thing could be. Very seldom will the worst consequence be anywhere near as bad as a cloud of "undefined consequences." My father would tell me early on, when I was struggling and losing my shirt trying to get Parsons Technology going, "Well, Robert, if it doesn’t work, they can’t eat you."
- Focus on what you want to have happen. Remember that old saying, "As you think, so shall you be."
- Take things a day at a time. No matter how difficult your situation is, you can get through it if you don’t look too far into the future and focus on the present moment. You can get through anything one day at a time.
- Always be moving forward. Never stop investing. Never stop improving. Never stop doing something new. The moment you stop improving your organization, it starts to die. Make it your goal to be better each and every day, in some small way. Remember the Japanese concept of Kaizen. Small daily improvements eventually result in huge advantages.
- Be quick to decide. Remember what General George S. Patton said: "A good plan violently executed today is far and away better than a perfect plan tomorrow."
- Measure everything of significance. I swear this is true. Anything that is measured and watched improves.
- Anything that is not managed will deteriorate. If you want to uncover problems you don’t know about, take a few moments and look closely at the areas you haven’t examined for a while. I guarantee you problems will be there.
- Pay attention to your competitors, but pay more attention to what you’re doing. When you look at your competitors, remember that everything looks perfect at a distance. Even the planet Earth, if you get far enough into space, looks like a peaceful place.
- Never let anybody push you around. In our society, with our laws and even playing field, you have just as much right to what you’re doing as anyone else, provided that what you’re doing is legal.
- Never expect life to be fair. Life isn’t fair. You make your own breaks. You’ll be doing good if the only meaning fair has to you is something that you pay when you get on a bus (i.e., fare).
- Solve your own problems. You’ll find that by coming up with your own solutions, you’ll develop a competitive edge. Masura Ibuka, the co-founder of Sony, said it best: "You never succeed in technology, business, or anything by following the others." There’s also an old Asian saying that I remind myself of frequently. It goes like this: "A wise man keeps his own counsel."
- Don’t take yourself too seriously. Lighten up. Often, at least half of what we accomplish is due to luck. None of us are in control as much as we like to think we are.
- There’s always a reason to smile. Find it. After all, you’re really lucky just to be alive. Life is short. More and more, I agree with my little brother. He always reminds me: "We’re not here for a long time; we’re here for a good time."
[Ed. Note: The above article is included here with the permission of Bob Parsons. Copyright © 2004-2006 by Bob Parsons. All rights reserved.]
15 Minutes A Day To Personal Freedom…
Just think, reaching your goals this year could make the difference…
Between retiring with just enough to get by… or with a millionaire’s portfolio…
Between having a job you dread going to every day…. or the job you’ve always dreamed about…
- Charlie Byrne
Word to the Wise: Tintinnabulation
"Tintinnabulation" (tin-tih-nab-yuh-LAY-shun) - from the Latin for "to jingle" - is a tinkling sound.
Example (as used by Tim Page in an article about Japanese Kodo drums): "One found oneself immersed in the infinitely nuanced tintinnabulations of clapping cymbal rhythms passed from one player to the next, in the barely audible, rain-like patter of drums that suddenly grew into an overwhelming mechanical onslaught."
Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2007